Jason Jordan Segel (born January 18, 1980) is an American television and film actor, screenwriter and musician, known for his work with producer Judd Apatow on the short-lived television series Freaks and Geeks and Undeclared, the movies Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Knocked Up, and I Love You, Man, and also for his role as Marshall Eriksen in the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother.

Segel was born in Los Angeles, California, and raised in Pacific Palisades, California. Segel attended an Episcopal Church-affiliated school, though he was raised in his father’s Jewish religion. Following the completion of elementary school, he completed his middle and high school studies at Harvard-Westlake School, where his 6’4″ (193 cm) frame helped him as an active member of the state champion boys’ basketball team. He was hoping to become an actor during his school days and acted in local theater productions at Palisades Playhouse.